🔗 Learning Elixir: keyword lists

Keyword lists are like restaurant order forms where each field has a clear label and you can repeat certain items when it makes sense. Unlike a table setting where each position holds one specific item, an order form lets you write "drink: water, appetizer: salad, drink: soda" - keeping everything in order and allowing duplicates when needed. Think of [timeout: 5000, retry: 3, retry: 5] as a configuration form where some options can be specified multiple times, each with its own meaning and context. While this flexibility makes keyword lists perfect for function options and small configurations, it also makes them quite different from maps in both behavior and use cases. In this comprehensive article, we'll explore how keyword lists work, when they're the perfect choice for your data, and the patterns that make them indispensable in Elixir's ecosystem.

Note: The examples in this article use Elixir 1.18.4. While most operations should work across different versions, some functionality might vary.